Shirin Delsooz

My Life Adventures and Thoughts

It Probably Didn’t Happen For A Reason

There was a guy that had a crush on me when I was in high school, let’s call him, “H”. I kinda liked him too (at the time). But timing was really bad, and I was trapped with someone else.

I felt bad, because I was convinced “H” and I would have made such a great couple. We got along great, we lived in the same neighbourhood, we liked the same music (at the time) and he was so nice (to me)! He filmed my favourite shows, bought things he thought I would like, and hung out with me lots. But he had a bit of a temper. Today I saw him by coincidence in the subway yelling at someone. I ran as fast as I could, I’m sooo glad that it was not me over there he was yelling at. I’m through with guys who like to make spectacles in public… not my scene!

Drying My Hands in the Public Arena – the Environmentally Friendly Way

I was at Dora Keogh’s Pub the other day, puzzled at their hand drying system. I discovered this contraption in their washroom to be one of the most brilliant and efficient  way of drying hands in a public washroom. Its a reusable towel with a rolling system. After you dry your hands on this towel, you roll it down and a fresh clean space becomes available for the next person. After the roll is done, the owner will provide a freshly washed new towel roll, and the cycle continues. Here is a visual break down.

Step 1. Confront the contraption.

Step 2. Dry your hands.

Step 3. Roll it down for the next person to use.

For more information on where you can acquire this towel dispenser, check out http://www.darmanco.com/papertowel.asp. Encourage your local businesses to implement this brilliant idea into their washroom facility!

Environment issue is really a PR crisis

I was looking up the sort of materials I could compost, and I just couldn’t believe how long the list was. Napkins too!?

To be honest, I ‘forget’ to recycle from time to time, so I don’t know why I even bothered to look up composting in the first place. But deep down I yearn to lead a zero carbon footprint lifestyle, whereas the people around me could care less.

And the sentiment is understandable, to lead a virtuous green life means taking time out of your life to sort out paper, waste, compost and electronics… then call the designated city department to get you the bins! With all of life’s stresses, this is quite a vexing task to add to the list that no one is lawfully, financially or religiously obligated tied down to.

The whole environmental thing sounds either like a nagging chore or a fad.

You see, the term itself, ‘environmentally friendly,’ doesn’t conjure up an immediate sense of duty for us regular people. For such a grand concept so threatening to our entire existence, why is it labeled with such a fluffy term? Friendly? Who cares about being friendly?

And why should anyone care about being friendly to the environment anyway? Isn’t our lives built around being clean, sterile, and nature-free? By that logic, why should we care about anything green, let alone an endangered species?

What we can all agree on is ensuring the survival of the human race.

What some of us learned is that the environment has something to do with it.

So I implore everyone, including the members of the media, to immediately eliminate the term ‘environmentally friendly’ and switch it to ‘human friendly’. Or even ‘human safe’- a term that really sums up the threat!

Instead of carbon free footprint, let’s make it simple like, ‘clean footprint’.

Instead of saying, biodegradable, let’s call it ‘soil-degrade’, ‘vegetationous’, ‘farm nutritious’, or ‘planting-dependent’ or something that shows why it’s important for things to biodegrade quick.

And let’s put our papers and cans into a ‘life-cycle’ so they can turn into new fresh pieces of crispy paper and clean cans.

Instead of saying ‘garbage’, let’s call it ‘hazard’. Because what we put in the garbage isn’t quick enough to biodegrade! And therefore it becomes a hazard to our environment. Eliminate the hazard!

I know suggesting changes in our languages to change our action is blatant propaganda-ish, but who said propaganda cannot be used to influence good? Changing the language with euphemisms and breaking it down into simpler terms to change our behaviour isn’t just a fictional concept from Orwell’s ‘1984’, it’s a technique that creeps on us even today by marketing and government agencies. Changes in our culture is inevitable as is our evolving language, and it’s time for us to steer it in the right direction!

And remember- don’t put life-cyclables in the hazard!

I hate the word ‘charity’

With Christmas rolling around, I get a bit nauseated with the consumerism, and especially… and especially, the charity drives. These days, helping out one another does not come across as an obligation. No one wants to do anything unless Oprah is patting you on the back with endless thank you’s. With your donation you get your name written on some wall no one reads, you get a glossy booklet in the mail and an invitation to a party to remind you how great you are.

Why are people in need of reassurance? I personally do not believe in charity, I believe in smart consumer choices. Buy ethical, buy local and pay your taxes.

happy things.

It’s not all that bad!

1. I was totally in the dark not knowing what was wrong with the sentences in my short stories. The anguish was consuming me. I digest a good dose of short stories every week and have read many books on the art, but nothing helped. A random book off the shelf unlocked a world of profound literary insight! I am forever grateful to the genius author, Bobby Christmas for giving me a chance to write in style! I will tighten my sentences, avoid adverbs and eliminate useless pronouns wherever possible. Each chapter deserves a reread! I don’t want any invaluable detail to be over sighted. I am convinced that this book was the very thing I’ve been looking for in my quest to become published! Horrah!

2. scribendi.com has been another discovery that I’ve been extremely grateful for! This BBB accredited online editor provides speedy and top notch prose polish at the best rate yet!

3. The best days of my life have been at Gram Parson’s in Tampa Florida, but I’m going to get into details on that in its own blog, maybe even a book, maybe even a documentary. It’s that cool!

4. Good friends.

5. Cool musicians. Thanks.

6. A rare act of kindness that happened lately… a good man offered his hand while I was in some befuddling muck. He has withheld judgment when I thought he would be the one to have it the most. To my surprise he has only been encouraging and caring and this has restored faith in myself… and humanity. He is probably the only one reading this blog.

7. Oh, and thanks to all the people on the internet who put their free time in sharing their expertise! You made life easier.

8. I almost forgot to mention my Mom who still talks to me no matter how heated our arguments get. I made a site to showcase her paintings, http://shanapaints.ca in case you are interested…